Display hanger with crossbar and removable support assembly



Aug. 26, 1969 3,463,324

DISPLAY HANGER WITH CROSSBAR AND REMOVABLE SUPPORT ASSEMBLY R. cs.SCHAEFER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Dec. '23. 1966 Jr? e/e/ r-cZ i/@Z ls g- 26, 1969 R. G. SCHAEFER DISPLAY HANGER WITH CROSSiBAR ANDREMOVABLE SUPPORT ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Dec. 25, 1966United States Patent 3,463,324 DISPLAY HANGER WITH CROSSBAR ANDREMOVABLE SUPPORT ASSEMBLY Robert G. Schaefer, Highland Park, Ill.,assignor to Central Specialties Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation ofIllinois Continuation of application Ser. No. 604,208, Dec. 23, 1966.This application Aug. 13, 1968, Ser. No. 755,018 Int. Cl. A47 51/08;A47h 1/14 US. Cl. 211-123 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Thedisclosure includes a display hanger having a tubular crossbar withapertured barrel shaped end caps at each end of the crossbar. Atwo-piece support member is employed, one piece having its end portionanchored within the crossbar, and the other piece having a closed eyefor attachment to the hanger at a hanger crotch portion, its free end.having a lock member which fits into one of the end caps. The supportmember is removed by means of grasping the anchor portion and crossbar,squeezing the same, and removing or inserting the lock end of the hangersupport into its respective end cap.

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 604,208 filed Dec. 23,1966, and now abandoned.

The present invention relates to a Display Hanger with Crossbar andRemovable Support Assembly. A hanger made in accordance with the presentinvention is particularly useful in hanging draperies, bed spreads,blankets, beach towels, and the like.

The prior art is most completely exemplified by United States Patent2,947,421 and the references cited therein which disclose a crossbar anda single piece support member formed of a single piece of resilient rodwith the hook portion defined by reversely bent parallel portions of thesingle piece member. While the prior art device is sturdy and durable,the cost of reversely bending and forming the single piece hangersupport portion is more than double than that of forming the two piecesupport portion as exemplified by the present invention. Furthermore,because the resiliency is spread over the entire support portion of thedisplay hanger disclosed in Patent 2,947,421, considerable additionaleffort is required to squeeze the anchor portion thereof in order toremovably secure the free end. Additionally in the prior art structurethe fixed end portion of the support ember pivots around its end capsupport aperture, whereas in the structure exemplary of the presentinvention the end is permanently anchored so that a fixed position forthe hook may be predicted when the swivel portion is removed forattaching the material to be hung and stored.

In view of the foregoing it is a principal object of the presentinvention to provide a display hanger which is inexpensive tomanufacture and assemble, and yet facilitate the easier operation in usethan the devices of the prior art.

An additional object of the present invention looks to the provision ofa display hanger in which one end of the support is firmly anchoredwithin the crossbar thereby providing a predictable open position, andfacilitating its use.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a displayhanger in which one end may swivel to a retracted position substantiallyparalleling the fixed portion thereby providing easier access forinsertion of garments or fabrics to be displayed along the crossbar.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following description of an illustrative embodimentproceeds in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective partially cut away view of an exemplarydisplay hanger showing the relationship between the support assembly,crossbar, and a typical fabric being supported thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of the display hanger illustrative of thepresent invention;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation in similar scale of the display hangerdisclosed in FIG. 2 illustrating diagrammatically how the user opens thesame for the insertion of the fabric material to be supported ordisplayed thereotri;

FIGURE 4 is an end view in enlarged scale showing the end cap and itsrelated support portion;

FIGURE 5 is a partially ibroken front elevation in enlarged scaleshowing the end cap, crossbar, and removable free' end lock of thesubject display hanger;

FIGURE 6 is a transverse sectional view taken along section line 6-6 ofFIG. 5 in the same scale as FIG. 5;

FIGURE 7 is a broken perspective partially diagrammatic view showing theattachment relationship between the free end lock and its associated endcap; 7

FIGURE 8 is a broken view in the same scale as FIG. 5 showing the anchorend assembly in phantom lines;

FIGURE 9 is a transverse sectional view of the anchor end assembly shownin FIG. 8 taken along section line 99 of FIG. 8.

FIGURE 10 is a perspective exploded view of the anchor end assembly andits associated end cap and end portion of the crossbar;

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged view of the hook end portion of the anchoredportion of the support member showing its assembled relation with theclosed eye end of the swivel portion;

FIGURE 12 is a partially sectioned view showing the swivel attachmentand eye crotch assembly taken along section line 1212 of FIG. 11.

As shown in FIG. 1, the display hanger comprises two basic portions, thecrossbar 11 and the hanger support assembly 12. The two offset portions21 depending from the main body of the support assembly 12 are securedat their ends and a pair of end caps 14 which close the two ends of thetubular crossbar 11.

The anchor portion 16 of the crossbar assembly- 12 terminates in a book15 at its outer or exposed end, and at an anchor end 20 (to be describedhereinafter) inside of its related end cap 14. The swivel portion 18 ofthe hanger support assembly 12 terminates at one end in a closed eye 19which swivels about the eye crotch 30 at the base of the hook 15. Theother end of the swivel portion 18 terminates in a free end lock 25which is removably secured to its respective end cap 14. As will beobserved in FIG. 2, the offset portions of the two members making up thehanger support assembly are of approximately the same length in order toprovide symmetry and balance to the assembled construction.

The operation is diagrammatically illustrated in FIG.

3 where it will be seen that the users right hand grasps the anchorportion 16, and spans the distance between the anchor portion 16 and thetubular crossbar 11, and with a slight squeezing action permits theswivel portion 18 to be removed by the other hand. A folded fabric canthen be inserted, and if the fabric is sufficiently thick to tax thecapacity of the holding area, the swivel portion 18 may be retracted andpositioned relatively parallel to the anchor portion 16.

The details of construction, and more particularly the relationshipbetween the end caps and the tubular crossbar are such that the assemblyoperation is quite simple and can actually be performed by thehandicapped or even blind workers. This relationship will be bestunderstood by a reference to the second sheet of drawings.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, it will be seen that the end caps have acylindrical end cap barrel portion 31 which is proportioned for asliding fit with the tubular crossbar 11. A recessed end cap cup 32 isprovided at the closed end of each end cap 14, and its central portionhas an end cap aperture 34 slightly larger than the diameter of the rodor body of the swivel portion 18 and anchor portion 16 or the hangersupport assembly 12. Each end cap is provided with an end cap pair ofoffset detents 35, and the ends of the tubular crossbar 11 may berecessed to receive the detents, but operations have shown that such arecess is not essential to the secure engagement of the end cap 14.Other forms of attachment are contemplated, but the detent snugrelationship with the tubular body of the crossbar 11 has been foundsufiicient for secure support in normal operation.

Referring now to FIG. 10, the elements of the anchor end 20 will bebetter understood (particularly with comparative reference to FIG. 8 inwhich its assembled relationship is shown in phantom lines).

The anchor end assembly 20 is provided by a plurality of bends at theend portion of the offset portion 21 of the anchor portion 16. The bendis accomplished in such a manner as to define a tube flat 22 and anobtusely extending tube flat offset 29 which terminates in a nib 24. Thedistance between the top of the nib 24 and the base of the tube flat 22is slightly larger than the interior diameter of the crossbar tube 11 inorder to provide for a force or spring fit of the anchor end 20 withinthe crossbar tube 11. The end lock offset 28 which depends from theopposed portion of the nib 24 terminates in an anchored end lock 26which portion extends through the aperture 34 of the adjacent end capcup 32.

In assembling the anchor portion 16 to the crossbar 11, the cup 14 ispositioned on the anchor end 20 until its aperture approaches the offsetportion 21. Thereafter the entire assembly is inserted by firstinserting the tube flat 22 within the tubular member 11, and then whenthe offset portion 21 abuts against the end cap 14, it serves to pressthe same onto the end of the tubular crossbar 11, and the end capdetents 35 dig into the tubular crossbar body portion 11. The fit isquite snug attributable to the combined action of the anchor end 20 andits associated bent portions, as well as the detent 35.

At the opposite end (as shown in FIG. 7) the end cap 14 is merelypressed on to the tubular body portion 11 until its entire portion abutsthe end of the tubular member 11 as shown in FIG. 5. A similar abuttingrelationship appears in FIG. 8 at the anchor end portion.

To assemble the swivel portion 18 to the anchor portion 16, the anchorportion 18 is inverted from its ultimate position, the closed eye 19inserted over the free end of the hook 15, and the swivel end portion 18then rotated about and the eye 19 brought to rest at the eye crotch 30portion of the anchor portion 16 (the relationship between the closedeye 19 and the eye crotch 30 being illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12).

In review it will be seen that the subject construction may be made outof an anchor portion 16 and swivel portion 18 which donot include anycomplicated reverse bends, and accordingly may be rapidly assembled on astandard four slide wire forming machine. The subsequent assembly, inaddition, particularly because of the configuration of the anchor endassembly 20 may be press fitted without complicated jigs or otherautomatic assembly fixtures. In final operation, as illustrated inconjunction with the diagrammatic showing in FIG. 3, is one of easebecause the yieldable portion is provided solely by the resiliency ofthe anchor portion 16, uninhibited by any resistance from the swivelportion 18. Furthermore, because the swivel portion 18 may be retracted,the maximum utilization of the open jaws defined by the anchor portion16 and swivel portion 18 may be utilized.

While materials do not comprise a significant portion of the invention,the rod which is employed for the anchor portion 16 and the swivelportion 18 of the hanger support assembly should be sufficientlyresilient to provide the action defined. Furthermore, the diametershould be such as to easily fit within the apertures 34 of the end caps14. The tubular rod forming the crossbar assembly 11 may be a seamedtube formed of a sheet material, and accordingly inexpensive to procure.In the commercial embodiment found acceptable, the tubular rod and endcap are plated for corrosion resistance.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed in full here, there is no intention to thereby limit theinvention to the details of such embodiments.

What is claimed is:

1. A display hanger comprising, in combination, a crossbar, saidcrossbar being a hollow tubular member open at both ends, a pair ofremovably secured end caps slidably securable to close the ends of saidtubular member, each said end cap having rod receiving means disposedtherein; and a two piece resilient hanger support assembly, a firstpiece including a generally horizontally disposed portion having ananchor portion at one end thereof, the opposite end of said horizontallydisposed portion being providedwith an eye crotch portion and agenerally vertically disposed hook, the anchor portion beingproportioned for a snug fit in the end cap and for anchor engagement inthe hollow tubular member; the second piece of said support having oneend forming a closed loop engaged with the eye crotch of said firstpiece, said second piece having an offset end lock member proportionedto be received in said second end cap; said support assembly beingformed of material sufficiently resilient so that grasping by one handthe first piece of the support assembly and the cross bar and squeezingthe same will free the offset end lock member of the second piece of thesupport assembly from its end cap.

2. The display hanger of claim 1, wherein said rod receiving meansdisposed in said end caps comprises an aperture and wherein said anchorportion includes an offset triple bend defining at its far end atube-bearing flat portion and, a tube contacting bend at an intermediateportion thereof, and an end cap aperture-engaging portion on an axissubstantially mid-way between the remote point defined by the top of thetube contacting bend, and the remote surface defined by the base of thetube bearing flat portion.

3. The display hanger of claim 1, wherein said end caps each has abarrel like cylindrical body portion terminating in a cup-shaped end,said cup-shaped end having said rod receiving means formed therein inthe form of an aperture at the central portion thereof, and a detent inthe body portion which is offset a sufficient interior distance toprovide a force fit between the detent and the hollow tubular memberforming the crossbar.

4. A display hanger comprising, in combination, a crossbar, saidcrossbar being a hollow tubular member open at both ends, a pair ofremovably secured end caps slidably securable to close the ends of saidtubular member, each said end caps having rod engaging means disposedtherein, and a resilient hanger support assembly comprising a rod havingan anchor portion at one end thereof which is proportioned for a snugfit in the rod engaging means in said end cap, at least one of saidanchor portions comprising an offset triple bend defining at its far enda tube bearing flat, a nib tube contact bend at an intermediate portionthereof, and an end cap aperture engaging portion on an axissubstantially mid-Way between the remote point defined by the nib top,and the remote surface defined by the base of the tube bearing flat, theother end of said rod having means for removably securing the same tothe rod engaging means at the opposite end cap.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS US. Cl. X.R.

